School committee chairs in Jeonnam have expressed concerns over the proposed reform of local education finance grants and have decided to jointly call for its withdrawal.
The Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Education Office announced on September 3 that it held the 'Second Term School Committee Chairs Regular Meeting' in Yeongam, where they discussed exchange plans between the Jeonnam and Gwangju school committee councils and strategies to respond to the education finance reform.
The school committee council is a cooperative body formed around 22 regional councils in Jeonnam. It was established last year following the enactment of related ordinances and formed its second-term leadership in May, led by Heo Yu-in from Suncheon and Lee Hee-jin from Haenam.
During this first official regular meeting of the second term, the issue of local education finance grants was a key agenda item.
The attending chairs expressed concerns that the government's reform of local education finance grants could impact the financial conditions of frontline education. They adopted a statement urging the withdrawal of the reform plan and decided to promote a joint signature campaign.
In their statement, the council demanded the establishment of practical consultation procedures involving city and provincial education offices and local education stakeholders.
They also called for separate support measures for small schools in rural areas and schools in educationally vulnerable regions. They emphasized that investments in early childhood, high school, and lifelong education should be expanded through separate legal funding rather than reducing funding for primary and secondary education.
Plans to expand exchanges between the Jeonnam and Gwangju school committee councils were also discussed.
Participants agreed on the necessity of unifying related systems through the enactment of a unified ordinance and decided to promote gradual exchanges centered on the leadership of both regions in the early stages of integration.
Following the meeting, a 'Communication with the Education Superintendent' session was held, where questions and answers were conducted regarding the direction of education policy and key issues in schools after the integration of Jeonnam and Gwangju.
Heo Yu-in, chair of the school committee council, stated, "The school committee chairs from 22 cities and counties in the Jeonnam region will communicate closely to further enhance school autonomy. We will firmly respond to the reduction of education finance that threatens our children's learning environments and work towards creating a successful education model through active exchanges with the Gwangju council."
Kim Dae-jung, the superintendent of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Education Office, emphasized, "The school committee is a key organization for educational autonomy that grows with the community. I hope the Jeonnam and Gwangju school committees will closely collaborate to lead the development of K-education and present new, field-centered alternatives to major educational issues."
Meanwhile, the school committee council plans to strengthen communication among the 22 city and county councils in Jeonnam while gradually expanding the scope of exchanges with the Gwangju school committee. They also intend to continue joint responses to educational issues directly related to the school field, such as the reform of local education finance grants.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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